December 1, 2016

There is life after the Twins — just ask Terry Ryan

Terry Ryan, who spent 31 years with the Twins, including 19 as the club’s general manager, has found work again after he was fired during the team’s disastrous 2016 season.

His new employer is the Philadelphia Phillies, who have hired Ryan as a special assignment scout. The hire is also interesting because Ryan is once again reunited with Andy MacPhail, who was general manager of the Twins when they won the World Series in 1987 and 1991. After his success with the Twins, MacPhail was hired by the Chicago Cubs as president and chief executive. Ryan took over as GM of the Twins in 1994. MacPhail currently is president of baseball operations for the Phillies.

Ryan slowly built the Twins into a consistent winner, starting in 2001 and lasting through 2007. He left the team that year, but the Twins continued to win through 2010. In all, the Twins captured six American League Central titles between 2002 and 2010. Ryan returned to the team in 2012 and it was a different story. Suddenly, the club was a consistent loser and then it all fell apart this past season as the Twins lost 103 games, the worst season in franchise history.

Ryan appeared to fall out of step with the game and its emphasis on analytics. Still, Ryan’s been around the game long enough to have an eye for talent, according to the Phillies:

“I have known Terry for more than a decade and have enormous respect for all that he accomplished during his tenure with the Twins,” said GM Matt Klentak in the release. “Terry’s work ethic, loyalty and track record as a talent evaluator are simply unparalleled in our game. … “While we have made significant investments in our analytical endeavors over the past year, it is important to remember that quality talent evaluation is essential to making quality baseball decisions. We are thrilled to welcome Terry to the Phillies.”

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone and I love the Twins.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.